China, Japan and S. Korea clash over trees

Did Japan's hallowed cherry trees actually originate in South Korea?

That is what is being claimed in the pages of Daily Sports, a South Korean newspaper. It reported: "The beloved somei yoshino variety of cherry tree isn't really from Japan, but actually from South Korea's Jeju Island.

"Japanese cherry trees are actually Jeju's royal cherry trees. The Japanese just took them and cultivated them."